This invention pertains to a unique type of barrier system used to produce high end durable ticking fabrics used to make hospital and institutional pillows and other similar articles. The barrier system utilized involves foam coating applied to the surface of a high quality fabric to impart fluid repellancy and bacteriostatic properties which are required for a durable hospital pillow.
In the hospital, durable pillows are exposed to numerous body fluids and cleaning solutions, thus requiring these articles to be repellant to such fluids as water, alcohol, oil, blood or solutions containing these fluids. Most of the high end durable ticking fabrics used today are either coated with vinyl type polymers and polyurethanes, or laminated with such products on woven fabrics. The result is a ticking fabric that is impermeable to fluids and can be wiped down very clean making stains an infrequent occurrence. The drawbacks of these high end durable pillows, however, are numerous. Since the pillows are impermeable, even under high pressures, they are not breathable, that is, air does not readily pass through the ticking structure. This causes several problems. Firstly, the pillows must be vented in order to collapse when someone rests their head on it. The venting is achieved by several methods including punching many very small holes in the material, using grommets, or leaving an uncoated or untreated area around the pillow. This venting serves to provide direct pathways for bacteria and fluids to pass directly through and into the pillow filling thus increasing the possibility of cross-contamination from patient to patient.
The result is a pillow that is repellant only in certain areas making a non-uniform barrier product. Secondly, by not being breathable, heat and moisture can build up between the patient and pillow ticking making it very uncomfortable. Thirdly, the products tend to be either stiff or noisy, again, creating an uncomfortable situation for a patient particularly one who is confined to the bed for extended periods of time.
The object of this invention is to produce a high end durable pillow ticking that displays uniform repellency to water, alcohol, oil and other hospital fluids, bacteriostatic properties and exhibit soil release properties when wiped or cleaned.
Another object is to provide a pillow ticking that is breathable without any artificial venting resulting in a softer, quieter, and more comfortable durable pillow than is currently available.